Monday, April 30, 2012

Good morning! I can't believe another month has gone by, but that means it's time for more new products at TE! Last month we featured stamps and kits for Mother's Day and this month we're putting special emphasis on the men in our lives (and the boys too!). But of course we couldn't leave the ladies out so we have a little something flowery in store for you later this week. All of the new products the Baker's Dozen and I are showcasing will be available for purchase starting on Thursday, May 3rd at 8am PST. There's a ton to share today so I better get started!

First up, we have the super cute All Aboard stamp set with the coordinating Loads of Fun mini stamp set. Both sets were illustrated by Doug Applegate based on a concept from Jen Shults. When Jen came to me with this idea I absolutely loved it! I have four nephews and they've all been through (or are currently in) the train phase. They have train books, puzzles, and sleeping bags, huge train tables and lots of train toys. The full-size stamp set has all the train parts including a little boy and little girl conductor. And the mini set has a bunch of different 'loads' that can be stamped inside the train car to personalize the card even more. One of my nephews is turning three next month so I kept him in mind as I made this card. I started by stamping the images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored them with Copics (R08, BG45, BG49, YR23, YR14, YR18, YG03, YG17, E34, E57, N3, N5) to match the My Mind's Eye Out of the Blue patterned paper. I added Crystal Stickles to the window on the engine and red Tiny Twinkles to the wheels of each train car. I also used a couple of our new dies on this card, the Train Track Border and the Sprockets die set. The Train Track Border is a 2 piece border die. I cut the railroad ties from a woodgrain patterned paper and then cut the rail from black cardstock and pieced over the top. I cut the sprockets from coordinating cardstocks and added glitter brads to the center.

For my second project I used the same 6x6 paper pad, My Mind's Eye Out of the Blue, and paired it with the Far Out stamp set illustrated by Emily Burger for the Embracing Grace collection. These robots are simply adorable and they were so fun to color! Jon was away on a retreat last week so I made this for him and gave it to him when he got home on Saturday night. He got a good chuckle out of it! I stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it with Copics (see above list + R85). The layout was inspired by Jen's Deconstructed Sketch #49 (although I seem to have veered slightly off course). I always loved numbered patterned papers, but I struggle with how to use them. I thought the 'compute' sentiment and robot images fit perfectly! *grin* I also used another new die, Sprockets border on this card and added glitter brads to the center of these sprockets as well.

Here's a look at the new dies that I used on the above cards:

My last project for today is especially exciting because it features a digital image that is free with the purchase of one of our bundle deals (I'll be telling you more about the bundles on release day)! Each of the Baker's Dozen girls will be sharing inspiration using the Father's Day digi and when you purchase any one of four bundle options you'll receive a link to download the open line image, a pre-colored image, and inspiration sheets featuring all of the Baker's Dozen projects! After printing the image from the computer I colored the letters with Copics and followed another layout from the Deconstructed Sketch archives. This one is #47. All of the cardstock, patterned paper, and twill (not the decorative brads) are from the Loyal Project Pantry Basic Recipe kit. I am SO excited about this kit because these papers are absolutely perfect for masculine cards!

If you're not familiar with our Project Pantry kits, let me explain... the idea behind the Project Pantry is that when you want to bake a
dessert you head to your pantry for the ingredients. Well, when you
want to create card, you can head to our Project Pantry for all the
coordinating elements. I've found that some of the best cake and
cookie recipes are those based around a basic batter or dough recipe
with lots of options to spice it up according to your taste. So we
have our Basic Recipe Kit along with optional Spice It Up Ingredients that you can pick and choose from to build the kit just the way you want it!

The Basic Recipe Kit is $13.95 and includes the following coordinating supplies:

When you go to check out the Loyal Project Pantry
on release day you will see the Spice It Up Ingredients linked under
the Basic Recipe kit, so you can pick and choose the additional
coordinating supplies you'd like to add to your cart. I hope you have fun customizing your kit!

And last, but certainly not least, you won't want to miss any of the opportunities to win free stamps
during our Preview Party and Blog Giveaways so check out the details
below:

May
Release At a Glance

We have sneak peeks to share Monday through
Wednesday. All of the new products will be available for purchase
on Thursday, May 3rd at 8 am PST. You'll find it all in
the Fresh out of the Oven Department at
the Taylored Expressions Store.

Join us as a fan on Facebook for an early peek at the
stamp sets, as well as a SPECIAL
Facebook GIVEAWAY, on Wednesday night beginning at approximately 6 pm PST.

Mystery Baker's Dozen Blog Giveaway: Each day, one lucky
blog commenter will be chosen by random draw to win a $10 TE Gift
Certificate. Winners will be chosen from a different Baker's Dozen
blog each day and will be announced on Taylor's blog on Release Day! Be
sure to hop around to see all the sneak peeks and leave comments on each blog for more chances to win. Comments for the
drawings close Wednesday 5/2 at 7pm PST.

Don't miss the fabulous inspiration from our *uber* talented design team! Hope you all have a wonderful day and we'll see you back here tomorrow for more sneak peeks!

Holy cow Taylor! These are all fantastic! I love the white background of your train card... it makes the whole thing pop and I love the way you layered the sentiment. Those robots are so bright and so fun, I just adore them and the layout on your Father's Day card is perfect!

Simply FABULOUS Taylor!!! I adore the train - holy amazing!!! Seriously - the coloring of that cord is stunning and so much fun! LOVE the gears in the corner and the way you highlighted the word fun!! I KNOW that the kids would love it if that train came to our house!! haha!! Your robot card - is zoo super cute! LOVE the sweet colors and the gears in the background - so cute! And those little embellishments in your FD card is adorable - so cute!!